Oneshot Stop
by inkydoo
Summary: These are my short little oneshots that are too short to be posted by themselves. Sometimes dark, sometimes funny. Mostly Knivescentric. CHAP 9: KNIVES DAY SPECIAL!
1. he works fast

Summary: AU. Knives won the final battle and while Vash has been unconscious, Knives has been working.

* * *

"My, my,Vash, you're such a sleeper."

Vash looked around. There was pain all over his body. It was dark. Where the hell was he? He could smell blood...lots of blood.

A cracked voice through cracked lips: "What have you done?"

Knives was somewhere near him in the darkness. "Come now. Don't be a sore loser. You can't win 'em all." Vash could hear him moving in the darkness. "Look. I saved one for you."

A bright spotlight fell upon a sad little bloody lump of a girl. Vash began to shake in horror. That could not be Meryl. It couldn't be Meryl.

Knives, still lurking in the darkness, seemed amused by the reaction. "She's in pain, Vash. Finish her off. It'll be far more kind than the demise I had planned."

All Vash could do was scream. Somewhere in the darkness, Knives clicked his tongue three times in disappointment.

"He who hesitates is lost..." With that, a blade from nowhere and everywhere came out of the darkness and ripped Meryl to shreds. "Well," Knives nonchalantly said, "That's the last of them. Finally...Eden can be realized."

Knives never knew what hit him. Vash finally let himself get lost in the feeling of power as one lonely little desert planet disappeared in a flash of light.


	2. gung ho gun 12

Faery Goddyss: Yeah, writing a story where Knives wins does hurt my brain...because that means that everyone has to die...and why drag it out? You know? The utter destruction of a planet in 300 words or less. No updates because...well...Vash blows everything up. Maybe if I think of a good plot, I'll start a longer one. It is kind of intriguing to write something that you know is only going to go downhill.

Aine of Knockaine: Yeah, when Vash wins, I tend to be more optimistic about the outcome :)

Igbogal: TOO MUCH PRESSURE:) Just start writing! I think drabbles would be pretty hard to start out with.

xheartmehorrid: Glad you liked it. There is so much room in the Trigun universe for creepiness. You know what is crazy? Sometimes I read these fanfics and I think, "These people who write these are just normal humans, usually girls, but the crazy shit they write, it can chill me to the bone." Kind of makes you wonder...

* * *

"MERYL! I NEED HELP!" Vash looked desperately around him to find the small insurance girl. She suddenly appeared, leaning against the doorframe to his bedroom.

"What is it now? Can't you just use your toes?" She looked exasperated. How long was this going to go on?

"It's not about counting! I need your help REMEMBERING!" He paced the room back and forth. "Okay, first, there was Monev. Then I fought E. G. Mine. Then there was Rai Dei the Blade..."

Meryl's eye twitched. "Don't forget about that woman..."

Vash hit himself upside the head and his voice got deeper. "Dominique the Cyclops...how could I forget..." His eyes looked a little dreamy until the sudden tap tap tapping of Meryl's boot against the synthetic wood floor pulled him out of his thought. "Right, right. Okay...how many is that?"

"Four, Vash. It's only four."

"GAH! It's so hard to count under pressure!" He tried to get ahold of himself. "Alright. Then there was Leonof the Puppetmaster and Gray the Ninelives. Sheesh! What a nightmare!"

"Yes, and there was that weird bullet guy...Happy? Hoppy?" Meryl laughed at herself a little. This was like trying to remember the seven dwarves.

"Hoppered the Gauntlet," Vash corrected her. He looked hopefully at her. "Okay, now how many was that?"

Meryl looked annoyed at him. "You mean you're not keeping track?" When he shook his head no, she sighed, counting quickly on her fingers. "It's only seven. There are 5 more."

Vash put his hands to his head and cried, "Will it ever end? This is the real eternal suffering!" He kept pacing. "Alright. There was Chapel the Evergreen, and Caine the Longshot...Now we're up to 9." He stopped pacing and looked up at the sky. "Who else...who else..."

"Mmmm..." Meryl hummed. "Midvalley. What a fox." Meryl laughed at the incredulous look Vash was giving her. "I'm just kidding!"

Vash started pacing again. "ANYWAY... Zazie the Beast was one of them. What are we up to now?"

"Eleven. There's just one more."

"Well, who was the twelfth? Was it Legato? I don't think it was. Was it Wolfwood? For some reason, I don't think he had a number. Plus, he basically spat in their faces..."

Meryl tapped a finger to her chin. "True, true... Well, do you have any other suggestions?" She suddenly looked up to meet the comically serious face on Vash the Stampede and immediately regretted asking.

"THERE!" He pointed on the bed. "She's been following me everywhere, knows my every move, and CAN SEE IN THE DARK!"

"Oh brother. Vash! I was working! Don't bother me unless it's something important." Meryl stomped out of the room.

"But Meryl," Vash whined, "I am serious! Don't you think it's creepy that she's always around?" Vash let his hand drop to his side out of frustration. He looked over at the bed. Inhuman yellow eyes looked back at him. "Well, am I right? What do you have to say for yourself?"

He only got one word in response:

"Nyao!"


	3. sour times

Now, this isn't a proper songfic. It's more like background music or a soundtrack. Sour Times by Portishead is the inspiration...kinda.

* * *

Sour Times 

What was he going to do with her?

It had been over a month, and he had meant to dispatch her quickly. Okay, maybe not quickly, but definitely painfully. He had stolen his brother's favorite pet as penance for their last encounter in the desert, the one that had left him with five scars marring his beautiful body. The entire time, she had had such tremendous faith in his brother, such tremendous faith that he would come and save her.

It gave him a plan...and a devious one at that.

He thought long and hard about how to make the little spider pay for her misplaced faith. He wanted to use her affection towards his brother against her in the most painful of ways. He decided he was going to do many a horrible thing to her, but instead of just doing them, he was going to take the added step of convincing her that he was Vash instead of himself. With his powers, it would be no trouble at all, and the result would be so deliciously deviant.

That was the plan anyway.

On the day he had decided he'd finally let her live long enough, he approached her cell and prepared his mind. He unlocked the door and expected the same violent, resistant, insolent creature that he'd kidnapped to be before him. What he saw threw him for a loop: the passion, the lust, the need in her eyes. It caught him off guard just long enough for her to derail the plan, something that never, ever happened. Before he knew it, she had her body pressed against him and she was standing on her toes to kiss him forcefully and passionately.

Instead of killing her, they ended up having sex all day.

He didn't get it. When she thought he was himself, he got the same callous, all business attitude, but once she thought he was Vash, well, he didn't even want to think about what she was like, lest he get weak in the knees again and need to be reminded personally.

He wondered if his stupid brother knew the way his pet felt.

This had been going on for a little over two weeks, and it was two of the most cardiovascularly intensive weeks of Knives' recent memory. His resolve was slipping. Every moment with her, as a different person...well, you can see how that would affect someone. It pleased him that she was doing these things to his body, but it disgusted him to know she thought it was his brother while she was doing it. Was it...jealousy? He would quickly wipe that thought out of his mind. Still, it settled like a haze over everything he did.

Their sibling rivalry was intense, especially over toys.

So when he felt his brother approaching, after finally finding his lair in the desert, he couldn't properly think of what to do. He was supposed to have killed the spider, causing his brother tremendous pain. Now that he knew why his brother would be in pain, however, he wanted more than anything to keep this human all to himself. But this, no doubt, would make his brother fight all the harder. 'The lady or the tiger,' he'd think to himself. Should he kill the girl and cause his brother pain, or kill the girl and go without... He knew it wasn't really the same paradox, but his mind was clouded. He decided he'd sleep on it.

Well, he'd sleep with her on it, anyway.

_"Nobody loves me, it's true...__not like you do."_


	4. apothecary

Hello dear readers. Thanks for the comments. Here's another short one, clocking in at under 300 words.

* * *

"Vash! It's for your own good!"

Since when did _he_ know anything about "good." Knives stood over his brother who was currently bound and lying on the floor. Vash turned his head and could see the insurance girls against the wall, bound in a similar manner.

Vash looked up at his brother. "NO! I REFUSE!" He tried to get away, but his restraints were too much for him.

Knives lowered his face so that he was a breath away from his brother. "You don't have a choice." He turned and retrieved a small bottle from a cabinet. Knives chuckled. "Even Rem thought it was a good idea." Under his breath, he added, "I never thought I'd agree with her…" Vash could feel the terror mounting in the girls.

As Knives slowly made his way back, he cringed. He didn't want to be like his brother! He didn't want to see things like his brother! He didn't want to be the same!

His brother returned and straddled Vash. He brought a small piece of metal to Vash's mouth, forcing his jaw open. Vash screamed, but Knives dropped the pills in anyway. Vash tried to spit them out, but Knives forced them down. The bottle rolled away from the struggling twins.

It rolled towards the girls. Meryl could just make out the label. The bottle was old, the kind they used before the Fall. It must have been terrible stuff if Vash didn't want to take it so badly. A shiver ran up her spine. Clearly printed on the bottle was one word: Ritalin.


	5. bedside manner

Hey everybody. I just read on Aine of Knockaine's profile that she's not going to be updating for a while. That is bad. UPDATE ASAP!

Since one of the best stories is going to be down for a while, here is my feeble attempt at filling the fan fiction void. I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

As I lie in bed, broken, bloody and beaten, I am learning a new lesson: the true nature of superiority. And there is no one to teach it to me but you, Vash.

I finally snapped out of my overprotective zeal. You have a great act going. Really. You almost had me fooled, too. You're such a puzzle, you know...you act one way, but I can see your true being. I can see what you fear. I can see what you want to hide from others, from yourself, and especially from me.

Now don't you try to deny it. You've got those two spiders of yours wrapped around your little finger. How long can you go on ignoring them? They'll still take care of you. How far away can you run? They'll still find you. They _serve_ you.

And only a superior being can make the choice not to kill. It's so unfair of you to hold these weak humans to your high ideals. They're not the same as you! You are not one of them, no matter how much you dumb yourself down and play the fool.

They could never compete…

But I digress. I've seen those guilty looks, that self-loathing glint in your eyes. It's not because you have finally taken a life or the death of Rem. It's because of something altogether different. It's because you know all I say is true. It's because you know I am a superior being…

And you just beat me.


	6. last straw

She was shaking in his arms. She weakly drew shallow breath after shallow breath into her punctured lungs. She was afraid; he could see it in her eyes. He tried to comfort her, to let her know that it was all going to be okay, but all he could manage was to hold her until it was over. He wasn't going to leave her, not in the end, not ever again.

Finally she stilled, her face relaxing, her body limp. He wiped the tears away from his eyes with a bloody hand and gently laid her on the ground. She looked peaceful. He pulled away from her and looked around: he was caught between 5 bounty hunters, their guns all trained on him. He could have taken them if he had wanted to, but he didn't. The pain, the misery, the sadness: he just wanted it all to end right here, right now.

He stood protectively over his lifeless insurance girl. She'd taken a few stray bullets when the bounty hunters had descended upon them. The bullets weren't meant for her, but they killed her just the same. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and he wasn't able to save her, a story Vash witnessed far too often during his existence.

The temporary moratorium on Vash's bounty had been called off after the disappearances started again. Knives was behind it, of course, but there was no use in telling anybody about it now. Vash had tried to save him. Vash brought him back to the town, but Knives escaped, killing Milly in the process. Meryl had been nearly inconsolable. Vash took it better because, well, he had more experience with losing friends. He was going to leave to find Knives, but she wouldn't let him go alone. She never told him how she felt, but she didn't have to. It didn't take a rocket scientist to explain why a girl with a future would follow a hopeless outlaw to her certain death.

He'd hoped it would play out differently, that there could be happiness after his final battle with Knives, but now he knew any chance for happiness had just died with Meryl. He threw his gun down. He closed his eyes in resignation as the bounty hunters took aim.

He thought about what Eden would really be like. It wouldn't be the beautiful prison his brother envisioned. He thought about a place where all the people he loved could live in peace. Wolfwood and Milly would be there, and Meryl and Rem and everyone who he had lost along the way. It was what he wanted more than anything, and right now, he just wanted to be with them: all the smiling faces of his past, the people who defied his expectations by taking him into their hearts and caring about him.

Everyone he loved was dead. He couldn't fight anymore. He didn't want to be the hero. He just wanted to have a little peace.

As the bullets tore through his body, he honestly hoped the bounty hunters would have fun spending their reward in the time they had left.


	7. matchmaker

Hey guys. It's time for something a little less angsty... A different take on the whole "Meryl coming clean to Vash about her feelings" scenario. A joke and fluff at the same time. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Meryl, you've got to tell him!" Milly was being as adamant as ever. She carried their shopping basket as they walked through the market. 

"Tell him what?" Meryl was being equally evasive. She held her head high and kept walking.

"You know! How you _feel _about him…" Milly's innocent eyes and that hopeful expression on her face wore Meryl's determined denial down. "He's been back for a while now, and you know…you shouldn't talk yourself out of it. If you miss your opportunity, you will regret it for the rest of your life!"

She was right. He'd been back for a week, and she'd avoided him like the plague…like a tall, handsome, charming plague… "I know…I know." It really wasn't very becoming behavior for a Stryfe, after all.

"Plus! I can't vow to hate Mr. Vash forever for making you cry if you don't tell him your feelings…"

Meryl's eyes shot up to her partner's. "Please, Milly!" She quieted her voice. "Don't talk about that here." Her eyes darted around, making sure no one was within earshot.

"Oh, right," Milly remembered. Meryl didn't have emotions in public…well, except for fury. Most of the male patrons at the local tavern had already experienced that. "So…when are you going to tell him?"

Meryl snapped. "Oh, Milly, for crying out loud!" She expected Milly to drop the subject, but when she looked into her friend's eyes, she could see Milly wasn't about to let it go. Meryl couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe they were having this discussion now, and in public no less. It was true that she hadn't had very much opportunity to talk to Milly since Vash had returned, but still… "Come on! Do you want me to mark it on the calendar and hand out flyers so everyone in town will know that I lo—" That sentence was punctuated by a long, low growl. In a quiet, stern voice, she started up again. "Look. I don't want to talk about this out here."

Milly shrugged, like the subject was never really a big deal to her to begin with. "Okay, suit yourself, but I really think you should do it soon…" Milly trailed off as she contemplated the items in the window of a clothing store.

Meryl sucked in a breath, realizing she really had wanted someone to talk about this since Vash had come back. She really was unsure of herself. "Oh, Milly, what am I supposed to do? I'm not exactly your typical girl…if telling him was like writing a report, then… But it's not! It's nothing like that!" Meryl dropped her hands in a small act of desperation. She looked at the ground. "I mean, really, what am I supposed to do? Get an entirely new wardrobe…and, and…wait for my hair to grow out…and…drag him up to that cliff and say…say, I don't know…" She clasped her hands to her chest and batted her eyelashes as she exaggerated her voice, "Oh Vash, I love you! Let's get married and have ten thousand babies and live in love and peace forever and ever!"

Milly laughed. "But Meryl, that's just silly!"

"Ugh…you're right about that. That is never going to happen." She shook her head as anotherdistasteful scenariocame to mind. Her voice became syrupy again. "Or, how about I corner him in the middle of the night and confess my undying love as, a, a single tear rolls down my cheek." She stuck her finger in her mouth and made a gagging noise.

Milly stuck her tongue out. "That's a horrible idea."

Meryl jumped up in mock enthusiasm. "I've got it! How about I sneak into his room at night under the excuse that he was having a nightmare and then just have my way with him."

Milly laughed. "Oh, sempai, now I know you've been reading too many trashy novels for sure!"

Meryl let out a sigh as her shoulders slumped. She didn't know how to handle this. "Milly, what am I supposed to do?"

Milly gave her a warm smile. "Just…be yourself! Do what comes naturally. I'm sure you'll do swell!"

"Jeez," Meryl mumbled, trying to recover her stony facade. "I really hope you're giving Vash half as much trouble about this as you're giving me."

Milly flashed her an innocent smile. "Don't worry, I am!"

Milly waltzed away, seemingly oblivious to what she let slip. It was all Meryl could do to keep from falling over.


	8. what's in a name?

Hello everyone. Aren't one-shots awesome?This one is now a double feature. The first is based on vol 7 of trigun maximum. Those of you who haven't read it, it's probably not going to make a lick of sense...The second one is **THE WORST END-OF-ANIME FANFIC EVER!** It's just for fun.

Enjoy.

* * *

**What's in a name?**

He'd planned it out for months...the glorious revenge that would save him and his brother. They didn't deserve to live. They didn't even deserve to die in their sleep. It was too simple...too painless...too respectful.

Still...he didn't want to risk landing and having some of the filthy weeds taking root.

He sat at the console, contemplating the instructions he'd typed in. He thought about the reason. She hadtold him, so openly, _expecting _his forgiveness, like what had happened to _her_ was just some big mistake and now she planned on making it right by hiding him and his brother among them.

Hiding among the filth, the murderers, the ones who would kill him and his brother if only they knew the truth...

He would have none of that, but listened to the story anyway. He listened to all that had happened when he was unconscious: his brother had refused food, intent on dying to avoid dissection. He had even lashed out, quite uncharacteristically, against Rem, stabbing her in the stomach. Truth be told, wiping out the entire human race hadn't even occurred to him until he heard that his very own twin had lashed out against their adoptive mother.

But once the idea struck, it took hold of him like nothing he had ever felt before. This was not about revenge any longer. It was about good and bad, right and wrong. It was about snuffing out a horrible plague that threatened everything in the universe.

And to have the ability to see his desires through...now that was an honor.

He sat still, meditating on what would come to pass in the next few hours. He and his brother would leave with that woman, and only because she meant so much to his brother. He supposed one by itself couldn't pose any threat to the entire universe. Her survival was statistically insignificant.

His finger poised over the return key, the single button that stood between him and his righteous plan, he thought of the plants that these humans had enslaved. He would be their liberator. He would christen himself in the humans' blood. He would be reborn a savior. He would strip everything away, even his very name, every bit of human tarnish that dulled his superior brilliance.

A new name...a new name. What to call himself. He chuckled at this bit of arrogance, but he reasoned the plant sisters would want to know the name of their savior, and wouldn't settle for the ordinary human one the filth had bestowed upon him, a family name, one of the brothers she'd had to leave behind on Earth.

He thought back to_ his_ brother, and hit the return button. The computer beeped appreciatively.

He would finish them off where his brother had started...with _Knives_.

* * *

**The Simple Life**

Vash comes home, throws his brother's comatose body on the floor. Meryl jumps into his arms.

"You're back! Oh yeah...I'm really a plant! And I love you!"

"Wow, cool! Me too, let's make babies."

Milly pops her head out, spoon in mouth, pudding cup in hand.

"Babies! Oh, Hey Vash. BTW, I don't hate your bro, and that's great guys, because I'll need someone to play with my little tike who I made with Wolfwood."

Wolfwood leans around door frame. "Hey Spikey. Surprise! I'm here, too."

Vash turns, "You? Wolfwood? Who knew? And what was that Knives! Are you coming to, and did you just tell me telepathically that you're not a human hater anymore?"

Knives shakes his head in shame. "Yes...yes...that's exactly what i'm saying, you big, dumb, lovable, idiot. Let's all live in love and peace forever.

Just then, the local mysterious hottie pops her head in the door. "Hey, I'm this hot girl with no boyfriend and I develop symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome every easily...I love jerks. Also, I am a plant and I want to make babies. Does anybody here fit the bill?"

Knives raises his hand. "Yo."

Vash starts crying, reaching for his never-exhausted supply of donuts. "It's the Eden I always imagined! Now we'll be happy forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and..."

THE END :)


	9. to each his own

Everything he witnessed made his mind scream for some kind of denial of reality.

Knives had NOT killed all of them.

He had NOT failed her again.

This was NOT happening.

A sheared rafter fell upon a corpse he had once called a friend. Every horrible nightmare he had ever had was coming true. Knives approached him slowly and Vash leveled his gun in his brother's direction. His hand was shaking. Vash saw the look in his twin's eyes and he knew what it meant: kill or be killed. His hand shook as he fingered the trigger. His brother taunted him with his eyes.

_'You're a coward. You've always been one. Just one little bullet in my head and all your friends would still be alive. You're too weak. You wanted to be one of them. Now I'll kill you like I killed them.'_

Now Vash couldn't tell if the voice was his brother's or his own. He'd been so stupid. He actually thought Knives could change... But Vash had only succeeded in causing more death, more pain, and at this moment, he didn't care about being a coward. He didn't care about surviving. He didn't care about stopping Knives anymore for one reason: there was no oneleft to protect.

Knives was radiating hatred towards him. He knew Knives was just rubbing it in. Knives was finally going to get his way. He knew Vash wasn't going to shoot, but he was giving him the opportunity to do it anyway just to demonstrate how weak his twin really was.

After Knives had heard Vash's gun rattle and his jaw tense in indecision long enough, he decided this was the end. Vash was a traitor to their race. He now was the epitome of everything Knives hated. Vash was superior! He should have been a god to these weak animals, but instead he chose to fraternize. It was disgusting. He made excuses for their hypocracy, their lack of character, their existence. He loved their kind. Too much.

He was disgusting.

He'd waited long enough. It was time for Knives to realize his Eden, with or without his brother.

Vash didn't even know what hit him. One moment, he was praying to whoever would listen, and the next, he didn't feel anything. He was surrounded by a cool blackness and he felt nothing. Bit by bit, however, his body came back to him. He was lying on the ground and he felt like he was buried beneath a ton of bricks. It wasn't fatigue. It was a strange heaviness that pinned him to the ground. He felt nothing physically restricting him, but he couldn't move just the same.

Panic rose in his heart. He wasn't dead. He was being controlled, wasn't he. His brother had always been stronger at mind control. Knives was going to keep him locked away forever in his sick idea of Eden and torture him until...

...until...

Oh god...it really could be forever.

"Knock it off, Spikey." A cool presence in the room made himself known.

Vash tried to look around, but the weight was too much. That sounded just like Wolfwood. Was Knives really that good at this kind of thing?

He heard footsteps approaching and a presence above him. He heard the drag on a cigarette, smelled the smoke, and felt the exhale on his face. "Come on now, if you don't lighten up, you'll never be able to leave. And if you can't leave, I can't leave, and I don't know about you, but I've got quite a few things I'd like to be doing besides babysitting your sorry butt."

This couldn't be a joke. This was really Wolfwood. His old friend's sarcasm did wonders to alleviate the panic, but he was now overcome with an intense feeling of regret. It knocked the wind out of him. He wasn't just talking to a figment of his imagination...he was really dead this time. He'd finally lost. He'd failed. He'd let everyone down. _Lighten up_...like it was that easy. Vash was suddenly in so much emotional anguish that hedidn't even know if he could speak.

"Where...are we?" he mumbled dumbly, not really caring.

"Glad you asked, Spikey." He felt a hand on his forehead, cool to the touch. A rough finger suddenly pulled one of his eyelids open. Vision confirmed what his ears and nose had been telling him: it was Wolfwood, alright. He looked exactly the same. "Pay attention, because I would like to say this only once. This is Purgatory."

Vash suddenly found the strength to open both eyes on his own.

"Wha...wha..." Speechless. He was caught between anguish and disbelief. He'd suffered so much, and now death couldn't even provide him some respite.

Wolfwood chuckled. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I had the same reaction as well. But, there's good news, pal. You know that old line from the good book: 'Whatever you hold true on Earth, I'll hold true in heaven?' Well, thankfully the big guy wasn't really taking orders from us."

Vash let his friend's words sink in. "Then...why am I here?"

Wolfwood turned and stretched his legs out and mimicked his poor friend's position. "Short answer?"

"Yeah."

"This is the weigh station of life, and you're too heavy."

Vash tried to look over at his friend to deliver an incredulous stare, but he found he just couldn't manage to move.

Wolfwood could sense the disbelief from experience. "Yeah, that's what I mean." He heard another drag being taken through Wolfwood's cigarette. "With all this guilt, you'll never get into heaven." He sat back up so that Vash could see him. "Look, Spikey. You're still carrying a heavy load. You're carrying all the sins of the past, and what's more, you're carrying all your regret as well." Wolfwood tried to level with him. "You're here, so somebody had to think you deserved it." Wolfwood sighed and stood up. "And now we're going to be stuck here until you think you deserve it, too." Wolfwood stomped out his cigarette and promptly lit another one. "So get on it, already! I don't want to waste forever in here with you!"

After some time (because when you've got forever, who's counting?), they both emerged, Wolfwood happy to be stretching his legs and Vash feeling like a 2 year old again.

"Watch out," Wolfwood warned. "These clouds can be tricky at first."

Vash stepped onto the giant moonwalk that was heaven and strained to see. It was white for as far as he could see. Considering how dark it was in the place he had been, this was nearly blinding. He bounced around a while until he felt comfortable and followed Wolfwood in further. After a good walk, Wolfwood stopped. He turned to his friend.

"Okay, Spikey. Take a deep breath."

Vash gave him a goofy grin and complied, not really sure what was going to happen next, but faithful that it wasn't going to be bad. He'd had time to see his life from a different perspective. There were still things he would have changed if he'd had the chance, but that was okay. He felt ready.

But he wasn't.

In front of him, there was a break in the never-ending clouds and a green field, the likes of which he'd never seen before, opened up before him. He looked at Wolfwood in disbelief. He was going to break down. This wasn't for him. He didn't deser...

"NO NO NO! You're sinking!" Wolfwood grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him back up to stand on top of the clouds. "Would you knock it off already!" He smacked his forehead out of frustration. "Don't tell me we wasted all that time in there and you learned nothing!"

Vash got a hold of himself. Wolfwood was right. This was good. He was in the right place.

Still, he followed as Wolfwood led the way. "Hey Everybody! We're back!"

Vash could hardly believe his eyes. The further he walked, the more people he saw...people from his memory...people he never thought he'd see again. It stirred up a lot of emotions, but he didn't let the regret overcome him. He greeted everyone with hugs and happiness. This was something he never thought he'd feel. He saw Wolfwood chuckle and then make a bee-line to a tall girl he recognized. After a while, Vash made his way towards the same direction, hoping to find a shorter girl in the same area. Milly saw him first and gave him a crushing hug. If dead people had to use internal organs, Vash would have been in trouble. And as he caught his breath, he saw he was right. Meryl was there as well. They didn't say much as they looked at each other for a while. He saw her mouth open to say something, but she never got to. Instead, he scooped her up in his arms and held her close.

"I'm glad you made it," she said quietly.

"Me, too," he said back. He was feeling lighter now than he ever had before.

Just then he felt a presence behind him. He put Meryl down and turned around slowly. It was a woman with long dark hair and brown eyes, much shorter than he remembered, but there was no mistaking it. Vash went to her and stopped before her.

"Rem." That was all he could say as he gently put his arms around her shoulder and pulled her into an embrace. _I thought about you every day. You changed my life. Thank you for everything you did._ He couldn't say any of that. This was a moment he'd feared for so long.

He suddenly felt a weight.

But it wasn't him...it was a weight in his arms. He pulled himself away from her to see she was crying. She was sinking.

"Rem? What's wrong?" He pulled her up so that she was once again standing on the ground.

She took a sigh. "My poor, poor Vash. I asked too much of you." She wiped some tears off her face. "I never knew what caused the crash...I didn't know... I burdened you so much." She'd stopped crying altogether. "You were just a child...and I didn't know... Can you forgive me?"

Vash smiled warmly at her, kissed her on the forehead, and pulled her close to him again. "There's nothing to forgive."

Vash had reached sublime happiness on a different plane of existence, while another soul toasted a double sunset with a glass of red wine.

To each his own.


End file.
